Can the FTC Protect Consumers in the Digital Age?

On Nov 27, the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection held an oversight hearing on the Federal Trade Commission. The hearing examined the FTC’s “priorities in promoting competition and consumer protection, the ongoing innovation hearings and how changes in technology impact the agency, and whether the FTC should have expanded authority with respect to privacy and data security.” In other words -- is the FTC doing a good enough job? And if not, what needs change?

Some general consensus emerged: both senators and commissioners agreed that the modern economy has produced some very large companies, and, partly as a result, we have seen massive privacy violations. One of the main ideas everyone came back to was: Is it time to make some changes -- e.g. expanding the FTC’s rulemaking authority, a national privacy law, more resources for the agency -- so that the FTC can properly carry out its duty to provide consumer protection and promote competition?